Eight days after the Vikings fell spectacularly short of becoming the first NFL team to play in a Super Bowl in their home stadium, owners Mark and Zygi Wilf stressed the positives from a 13-3 season, even in the aftermath of their team’s 38-7 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC championship game.

The Wilfs had hoped this would be a Monday to kick off Super Bowl week with their team prepping to play at the stadium they spent years fighting for. Instead, a rare interview session with the Wilfs Monday was spent addressing an important offseason for their team, which needs to find a new offensive coordinator and has several unanswered questions surrounding the sport’s most important position — quarterback.

“It’s something that would have been an amazing experience to have,” Mark Wilf said of the Vikings reaching the Super Bowl. “But we need to move on. The best thing we know is that our football team is in good hands with (general manager) Rick Spielman and coach (Mike) Zimmer. The direction of this franchise is in a good direction.”

In Zygi Wilf’s first extended interview with the press in at least a year, he said the Vikings would be interested in hosting an NFL draft, called U.S. Bank Stadium “the best stadium in the United States,” and stressed that he’s pleased with the leadership of Spielman and Zimmer.

Zygi Wilf made a rare extended media appearance Monday, marking the occasion of the Super Bowl in his Vikings' new stadium. (Credit: Jerry Lai/USA TODAY Sports)

Once that decision is made, Mark Wilf said, the team can decide what to do with the quarterback position as Case Keenum, Sam Bradford, and Teddy Bridgewater all become free agents.

“We’re early in the reflection period,” Mark Wilf said. “It was a very good season, but anything short of a Super Bowl championship is not considered a success by our standards. But we do feel very positive about the future of this franchise, and our fans should as well. We have a great core of the team that we can build on, and we have a great coach and GM that we have confidence in. We feel that we’re going to be able to improve on what we did and we know we have to get better to get to our ultimate goal.”

For the first time, Zygi Wilf publicly expressed interest in hosting the NFL draft, which in recent years has begun moving locations after being held in New York City from 1965-2014. The draft was then moved to Chicago for two years. It was held in Philadelphia last year and will be in Dallas this April.

“We’re going to be building a new facility, so we’d have a great place to do that,” Zygi Wilf said, referring to the team’s not-yet-finished headquarters in Eagan. “Or we could do it in the stadium. We have a lot of great places we could do that.”

As for the Super Bowl, Zygi Wilf thanked fellow owners for approving the Vikings as hosts for Sunday’s game, though expressed doubt that the league will come to cold-weather markets on a regular basis.

“I think for the foreseeable future like in the past that the game will be played in warmer cities,” Zygi Wilf said. “For this to come to Minnesota, I think it was great for other owners to do that so that we can showcase what I believe is the best stadium in the United States.”

Chad Graff is a staff writer covering the Vikings for The Athletic Minnesota. Graff joined The Athletic after covering a bit of everything for the St. Paul Pioneer Press for nearly five years. A New Hampshire native, Graff grew up watching the New England pro teams combine for eight championships in 11 years – yet his only sports allegiance lies with Nebraska college football.